Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 71: Treasure the Win

The tug on my sleeve caused me to look down into the upturned face of an angelic cherub with big eyes. Beneath his eyes were dark circles that broke my heart.

I squatted down to his level.

"Where did you come from, little one?"

He pointed to the door marked ’Janitor’. "I hid."

"Smart thinking."

The boy looked familiar. And then it hit me in a flash.

"Are you Davon?"

The boy nodded once, and my heart skipped a beat.

Remembering Jake’s admonition to avoid using names, I kept my voice low.

"Is your stepdad’s name Jake?"

The boy’s eyes grew even wider. "You know Jake?"

"Yeah, honey, I do. Jake is here to rescue you and Drake."

Davon teared up. "Drake isn’t here. I haven’t seen him in a long time."

I hugged Davon to me. "That’s okay, Davon. We’ll keep looking for him. At least we found you. That is a terrific start."

I needed Jake right now. Ben didn’t need Jake to puke, but I didn’t know where to find him.

I covered Davon’s ears before calling out. "Help! I need help. Hurry!"

King darted to my side.

"Davon, this is King. He’s a friend. Stay here with King. I’ll find Jake."

Davon clutched at my clothes and shook his head as he stared at King in distrust.

King said, "Stay with the boy. I’ll find Jake."

"King, this is Davon. He is Jake’s youngest son."

"I’m on it. Stay here."

Davon asked. "Where’s my mom?"

I’m not sure, Davon. Jake knows, though. But what I do know is she loves you. So does Jake."

Davon shook his head again. "Mom sold us. She doesn’t know I know, but I heard her."

"Aw, honey, your mom was sick."

Footsteps pounded against the tile floor as Jake ran all out toward us. As soon as Davon identified Jake, he pushed out of my arms and ran to his stepdad.

Jake grabbed Davon in a hug, swinging the little boy around. Both man and boy were crying and clinging to one another, and I was crying for them both. Jake got his happily ever after—well, at least in part.

And I played a part in this. Not just in finding Davon but in freeing the other two hundred-plus prisoners of this building. I had a reason to be proud—we all did.

Bea came to the doorway of the room where she had been comforting a little boy who was probably no older than five years old.

She looked at me quizzically.

"It’s Davon."

Her face lit up but fell when I had to tell her Drake wasn’t here.

Min joined us. He assessed the situation silently. He looked at his watch. "Time’s up. We’ve got to go."

Jake nodded and stood Davon on the floor, kneeling in front of him. "I can’t go yet."

Davon said, "No."

"D-boy, you see all these kids? I’ve got to stay here for a little bit and make sure they get back to their moms and dads."

"I don’t want to leave you."

"It’s just for a little while."

Jake wiped tears from Davon’s face. "See my friend there?" Jake pointed at me. "She’s my best friend. I trust her with my life. I want you to go with her. She will take you home.

"We’ve already prepared a room for you. Lots of Transformers and Hot Wheels. And, D, there’s a man there named Father DiMarco. He is the absolute worst Mario Cart player in the world. He needs you to teach him. Can you do that for me?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Let me stay with you." Davon wiped at his runny nose.

Jake helped the boy clean his nose with his shirt sleeve. "It’s better if you go, but I promise I’ll be home before bedtime tomorrow night."

I stepped forward and put an arm around Davon. He tried to shrug it off, but I held firm. I had to help Jake by taking Davon away before the police arrived. I knew Jake wanted to save Davon from being held until Jake could prove he was Davon’s legal guardian if he could prove it at all.

King stepped up and took off his designer watch, which probably cost more than a house.

King said, "Hey, Davon. What time is bedtime?"

"Nine o’clock."

"This watch has an alarm on it. I’m going to set an alarm for nine o’clock tomorrow night." He set the alarm and then strapped the watch to Davon’s wrist.

Even on the first notch, the watch rolled around Davon’s thin wrist. Davon would have to be careful to keep it from falling off.

King asked. "Can you tell time?"

Davon said. "I know nine o’clock."

"Good. Now, you can watch the time until he returns to you, okay?"

Davon nodded again.

"So, can I carry you to the car? I promise. We all promise we wouldn’t separate you if it weren’t necessary to keep you safe."

We all assured the upset little boy. Finally, he agreed.

When King picked Davon up, I turned to the others. "Okay, time to go. Are you sure you’ll be okay?" I asked Jake.

"Yeah, I started this. I’ve got to finish it."

Min said, "You should go with your boy. I’ll stay."

Jake said, "You’re too close to the source. Not a good idea. I’ve got a history of looking for my missing boys. Easier to explain why I’m here."

Min nodded and walked away.

King and I followed him. Stiff and Ben joined us, but Bea did not.

I turned back to her. "Are you coming?"

Bea said, "I can’t walk away from these babies. Not until I know they’re safe."

She looked like a natural mother with one child in her arms and two more standing at her side.

Part of me wanted to stay with her, but I promised to take care of Davon, and Stiff would need me to go through those drives as quickly as possible. Depending on what we find, I may be needed to help locate the homes and families of the rest of the kids.

Besides, just like Min, I was too closely related to the Heavenlys. Considering the evidence, I could easily be swept up in the net with Lettie and Daniel. I could end up arrested and prosecuted with some of the very same evidence that we fed the police to convict real criminals.

So, I did the right thing. I left.

King carried Davon to the car and helped me buckle him in. But when Ben tried to enter the car, King stopped him.

"What gives?" Ben asked.

"We’ll ride back with Min to the condo. Teela is returning to the church."

Ben said, "King, are you sure?"

King said, "Yeah, I am."

He shut the car door in my face and walked away.

My heart hurt whether I wanted it to or not. I thought King and I had found an easy peace with one another. Now, I had ruined it. Now, it was King’s choice to walk away instead of me. It felt totally different. When I left, it felt liberating. When King walked away, it felt as if I had done something wrong.

I reached for Davon’s hand. Yeah, I should have been comforting him, but in that moment, the sweaty little hand was my lifeline. Without it, I might have left the car and walked into the darkness, determined to disappear and not cause anyone else any pain.

Stiff pulled out his laptop and went to work. "I’ve contacted CK. He’ll meet us at the church. He’s bringing his own rig. I’ve liberated a machine for you to use tonight. I assume yours is still at the condo?"

I nodded, barely keeping up with the conversation.

"Remind me to order you better equipment and duplicates. You’re vital to this process, you know?"

"Yes."

"Remember all those kids back there. This is the biggest love list win so far. This success far outweighs whatever is going on between you and King tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah."

He was right, but it didn’t feel right. It felt like nothing mattered right now. This felt like the perfect moment to wallow in self-pity, but then Davon’s stomach grumbled.

"When was the last time you ate?" I asked him.

Davon shrugged.

"Would you like to pick up something to eat on the way home?"

For the first time, his eyes lit up. "Can we?"

"Sure, what would you like?"

Of course, he said McDonalds. What kid didn’t love their iconic chicken nuggets and French fries?

"Sounds perfect!"

The driver pulled through the drive-thru of the first McDonald’s we came to. We ordered food for all of us and Father DiMarco, but we didn’t make Davon wait to arrive at the church to eat.

He wolfed down his nuggets and fries while draining his orange soda. When he was done, he looked at me like a starving little bird looking for more. I dug in the bag for more French fries and vowed the child would have a more nutritious meal tomorrow, but for now, Mcdonald’s comfort food would feed his injured soul as much as the food fed his thin frame.

And tomorrow, I would put King behind me and focus on what was important. Please let it be that simple.